Bench Bookkeeping

Makes My Life as a Small Business Owner So Much Easier

Monatlich für Mehr als 2 Jahre genutzt

Bewertet am 29.4.2019

Quelle der Bewertung: Capterra

I started my graphic design studio in 2005 managing our books through a part-time bookkeeper who'd come in 1-2x a month and we'd then communicate a few times every week.. This system got us through the first 8 years of our business. Though functional, it was a time-consuming process. We used Quickbooks at the time, and I could never get comfortable using it to manage or understand our business's numbers even though our bookkeeper was serving it on a silver platter essentially. I've always felt Quickbooks was made for accountants, not business owners or individuals. Once can argue, it's supposed to be "accounting made easy", but it's really designed with accounting in mind — not business owners. As a business owner I wanted to quickly understand cashflow and profitability. Whereas Quickbooks seemed to that and much more, it seemed like I was doing my taxes every time I went in there. So I started looking for options and that's when I found Bench. And Bench, even back then, had already provided a service ideal for a small business owner like me. I've been using Bench since 2013 now, and I can't imagine running my business without them. It's allowed me to focus on my clients and design work which are revenue generating tasks, instead of accounting which was an anxiety-generating task.

2) Accessible Customer Service/Communications — All the interactions I've had have been professional, courteous, and problem solving driven. It's never "No". Instead if a challenge arises, they've always been proactive in finding a way to address the challenge or question providing options. It's also especially great that you can speak with them or chat with them with no barriers. At first I was very concerned about this since our books are the heartbeat of our financials, and i was quickly at ease after the first few calls and chats.

3) Easy — Once our accounts were synced and Bench had a clear picture of how our business worked, it's set-it-and-forget-it. What used to required a few hours every week for me now has become an hour or two a month.

4) Transaction Verification Made Easy — I especially love how they've simplified this process to almost a game.

Nachteile

1) Cash based bookkeeping. This was a struggle in the beginning since we were accrual based initially. However upon working with them and our CPA, we've managed to stay accrual based and set up a system where we do adjusted entries after filing taxes.

2) Not Quickbooks. This is not really a con, but should make it clear that if you prefer to stay on Quickbooks, this is not the service for you. They will provide your books as spreadsheets for your CPA to work with. At first I was nervous about this, but it hasn't been an issue.

3) Turnover with bookkeepers — Over the years, we've had I believe 5 different bookkeepers over the course of 6 years due to turnover or what seems to be internal promotions. It has not negatively impacted our service, but I do wish it was less frequent since at times I'd have to remind the new person some of the subtleties of our account.

Exceptional Services for Small Businesses

Täglich für Mehr als 1 Jahr genutzt

Bewertet am 29.4.2019

Quelle der Bewertung: Capterra

Bench executives should develop the bookkeeping platform further to include items that allow the end user to have a total experience. I understand that the goal is to lead bookkeeping into full tech. However, I feel that users want some form of one-on-one service where they are able to meet and greet their bookkeeping expert. What I have experienced with Bench thus far are a series of glitches when adding accounts, not being able to delete accounts, and occasionally having to repeat myself when discussing issues with numerous customer support staff members that are not apart of my bookkeeping team. I feel that by establishing a video conferencing feature to the dashboard, it would be a brilliant opportunity for us, end users, to get to know their experts and to limit any inconsistencies while providing a more personal experience.

Vorteile

Bench has done a great job of placing most items one would require into a dashboard that makes the bookkeeping experience simple. Customer service at Bench is by far the best in the market! Staff at the company truly believe in the product and provide the end user with an exceptional experience each and every call.

Outsourcing to Bench was a Gamechanger

Monatlich für Mehr als 2 Jahre genutzt

Bewertet am 20.2.2019

Quelle der Bewertung: Capterra

As a small business we're constantly prioritizing big time spends and deciding what's worth us outsourcing and spending money on rather than time. Bench was one that, as soon as we were set up and going with them, we've never looked back. It is not cheap. But it's worth it for us, no question about it!

Vorteile

We've been using Bench for a few years now and absolutely love it. It can be basically as hand's off as you want. We get an email once a month when they're working on our books, sometimes an extra contact here and there if they provide other documentation throughout the year. And we have our CPA and Bench people in touch with each other which is even more off our plate. As small business owners, bookkeeping used to take a ton of our time, and now it's a breeze. And logging into our account we can look around at where our money is going with a quick glance

Nachteile

I admit we haven't done a ton of digging around in the actual software - our typical use is them contacting us with any categorization questions once a month (and after a couple years there are hardly ever any). I do wish (or can not find how) we could see how much money we're paying/spending on a particular item. So, say, I want to see how much we're spending on just Facebook ads. What I can do is search for "facebook" (and I can specifically search within whatever time period I want, like Q4 2018 or January 2017), but it won't automatically give me a sum of all of those expenses. I CAN see a summary of expenses by category, but by "line item" (like "Facebook" or "AWS") would be even more helpful.

Bench Works!

Wöchentlich für Mehr als 1 Jahr genutzt

Bewertet am 29.4.2019

Quelle der Bewertung: Capterra

Overall, I recommend bench to everyone. They do have their shortcomings, but in my experience it can be fixed by not giving so many clients to one person. My current bookkeeper is great and very prompt on delivering my books each month. I hope she sticks around. YMMV, but keep with it, bench is the best out there.

Vorteile

My QuickBooks was a mess. I had brought in duplicate transactions from syncing with square and I was going to need to manually adjust thousands of items. Then I found bench! The bookkeepers are relatively easy to get in touch with when you have an issue; you can book a call, chat, etc. Come tax time the year end summary they put together was amazing. It made filing taxes very easy.

Nachteile

The bookkeepers are spread very thin, and turnover is high. I've been with them a little over a year and I've had 3 different bookkeepers. I had to complain about one of them because he wasn't giving me a complete set of books each month. (They ended up giving a month free while they caught up my books.) It costs much much more than QuickBooks and doing it yourself, and you do have someone knowledgeable doing the work, but all than means nothing if your books are fragmented.

Best Web-based/Remote Bookkeeping Full-Services

Täglich für Mehr als 2 Jahre genutzt

Bewertet am 29.4.2019

Quelle der Bewertung: Capterra

Great experience, we've been with them for 2 years now and we will not switch to anything else!

Vorteile

Extremely professional bookkeepers, easy to use user interface and 100% hands-free. They even have auto-linked bank accounts to pull your bank statements so you don't have to manually send receipts and statements. You can view your dashboard anytime and see live updates on your balance sheet. My CPA loves their books as well.

Nachteile

Sometimes the connection might be off and I'll have to upload documents anyways, and they'll still need my input for returning vendors/suppliers.

Excellent Solution for Tracking Business Expenses

Bench has set my mind at ease that all of my business costs and expenditures are being accounted for successfully and tracked.

Vorteile

Very easy to use . This product has been very useful for me to track all business expenses and have all of the required audits of my accounts while also producing annual earnings reports. Very professional.

Nachteile

It would be nice if the system was able to read the memos for checks written to determine the purpose for the expenditure rather than the business owner having to review each check and identify its purpose for the business.

convenient and accessible

Täglich für Mehr als 1 Jahr genutzt

Bewertet am 29.4.2019

Quelle der Bewertung: Capterra

With bench.co I've been able to see in real-time our financial statements without having to ruffle through paperwork or calling someone/visiting an office. I would highly recommend this service to any small business owner.

Vorteile

Bench.co has literally changed the way I operate my organization & school. Whereas in the past we'd have to wait, and work around local accountants who had 100's of clients in queue, Bench allows me the convenience and access to my virtual accountant 24/7 online and poignantly clear on all aspects of bookkeeping.

Nachteile

As with all software based services, sometimes Bench can lag in their monthly accounts at the beginning of the new year. This is a very minor inconvenience to the overall experience.

Great bookkeeping company

Monatlich für Mehr als 1 Jahr genutzt

Bewertet am 29.4.2019

Quelle der Bewertung: Capterra

Overall Bench has saved me time with preparing all bank reconciliations and year end tax preparation. It's also a stress relief that it's done thoroughly and properly. It's not just one person being accountable for my bookkeeping needs but the company stands behind it.

Vorteile

I like the ease of having my bookkeeping done on a timely basis and not having to think about it until I get a message to review the month. I can then easily go in and make notes of any changes to be made or answer their questions to me. The customer service is excellent as well. They integrate with my payroll company too which saves time.

Nachteile

They don't integrate with my Customer Management System and they don't use QuickBooks which I also use. I process invoices through my CMS which also provides my scheduling, customer profiles, employee payroll reports, etc. I would love it if Bench would integrate their system to it so I can better track invoices. Instead I have to do that through QuickBooks but am only using a small portion of what QB offers since Bench does my bank reconciliation and they don't use QB. So I'm still paying for QB for this part of what I need. I have a daily service company and I process client credit cards daily in addition to tracking some clients that still write checks and a few who pay via ACH. I do that within QB. At this point I'm not aware of a better way if I want to continue using Bench for bookkeeping.

Completely alleviated stress while reducing my bookkeeping costs

Wöchentlich für Mehr als 2 Jahre genutzt

Bewertet am 29.4.2019

Quelle der Bewertung: Capterra

When I first heard about Bench, I was nervous about switching from a standard, old school accounting firm I'd worked with for many years. Within a week, my fears were dissipating. Three years later, my fears are completely gone. Bench completely meets my needs as a small business owner - while saving me time and money.

Vorteile

Bench is SIMPLE. The software provides me an accurate and easy to understand overview of my monthly and annual financials with easy-to- process visuals and graphs. The software integrates automatically with my bank and credit card, alleviating the back and forth calls and emails I used to labor through with my former "brick and mortar" accountants. When I have a question, the Bench team is always available and quick to respond.

Nachteile

Nada! No complaints here! I have not experienced a single problem with the Bench software

Takes the hassle work out of financial reporting

Overall Bench has helped me to track and monitor my business financials. Tax seasons has been a breeze the last two years with Bench - something a lot of freelancers struggle with.

Vorteile

- no need to use quickbooks
- friendly and responsive staff when issues arise
- individual bookkeeper assigned to your account
- user interface is friendly and accessible
- reporting features are solid
- costs less than hiring your own bookkeeper
- affordable rates which are advantageous for small businesses

Awesome tool, great customer service, and affordable!

Wöchentlich für Mehr als 2 Jahre genutzt

Bewertet am 6.4.2018

Quelle der Bewertung: Capterra

Vorteile

What I love the most is the customer service. Despite this being a "bookkeeping software/tool", you get a dedicated accountant. Executives are so responsive. Every time I have a question, I get a response that same day. The platform is also easy to use, and the interface makes it really easy to upload documents, download reports, etc. Really recommend!

Nachteile

One small issue is the capabilities. If you have highly complex bookkeeping needs (a unique situation or business model), this may not work for you. This doesn't matter for 99% of businesses.

Antwort von Bench

Hi Patrick - This is so lovely to hear! We're so glad we've been able to help take bookkeeping off of your plate. I've passed this on to Michael and your team, and you've made their day. - SP

Bench Makes Running a Small Company a Breeze!

Wöchentlich für Mehr als 1 Jahr genutzt

Bewertet am 29.4.2019

Quelle der Bewertung: Capterra

Bench has made accounting for our small business so simple.
I struggled with other software that had clunky user interfaces (Quickbooks) and a steep learning curve, I needed something that could ensure that my business accounting would be accurate and up to date without it eating all of my time.
Our Bench bookkeepers have all been wonderful - they're fast to respond, give good information and work really well with our accountant. Taxes were a breeze this year after a full year with Bench! I have recommend them to other small business owners and urge you to try them out. You'll wonder what you ever did without them.

Vorteile

Bench makes work simple.
The interface is very user friendly and instinctive, reports are clear and accurate. Our accountant can log in easily and the customer service is stellar.

Must Have for Small Business Owner

Wöchentlich für 1-5 Monate genutzt

Bewertet am 29.4.2019

Quelle der Bewertung: Capterra

What I love is that I don't have to enter a thing! Doing the books was not only frustrating, but also time consuming. Having Bench on my side means I can focus on building and growing my business, knowing that the data that drives my decisions is solid!

Vorteile

Bench isn't a software. It's a team of people USING a dedicated software platform to help you manage your books. This has made all the difference for me in my business. Other accounting programs didn't teach me how to manage my books or read my monthly reports. My dedicated Bench bookkeeper answers my questions, provides me resources and is a partner in helping me understand my business finances to make better decisions.

If you are a small business owner who is great with customers, but bad with books...this is your solution. Stop trying to figure it all out yourself. Call Bench and get a dedicated human to help you out! You won't be disappointed!

Nachteile

After being on such robust software platform, I miss some of the bells and whistles those packages came with. But, Bench doesn't need all that. It's intuitive and focuses on the financial reports you need to make the best decisions for your business. You may have to look outside the platform to track some of your KPI's.

No more all-nighters at tax time! Easy to use, great support team, no more headaches.

Wöchentlich für Mehr als 2 Jahre genutzt

Bewertet am 5.10.2017

Quelle der Bewertung: Capterra

Vorteile

The interface is clean and easy. Submitting expenses is easy and in most cases automated. My team, led by customer rep, is very responsive.

Nachteile

The only thing and I'm splitting hairs is that for more detailed ecommerce analytics, I need to either go to my ecommerce platform and/or pull other data for company performance. It would be helpful to be in one place. But that's a tall order for the great Bench price.

Antwort von Bench

Thank you for the review! We're excited to hear your books are no longer keeping you up at night. I've passed along your feedback regarding ecommerce analytics to our development team as well. - SP

Leave it to Bench

Wöchentlich für Mehr als 2 Jahre genutzt

Bewertet am 29.4.2019

Quelle der Bewertung: Capterra

Being a hands on small business owner is tough enough. Not to mention all the documents, payroll, and most importantly booking keeping. This is where Bench comes in. The team at Bench is always helpful with any questions or concerns. They keep accurate booking and make it stress free each and every year. You will not be disappointed! Try them out

Solves the Startup Book-keeping Headaches

Monatlich für Mehr als 2 Jahre genutzt

Bewertet am 4.10.2017

Quelle der Bewertung: Capterra

All of my book-keeping headaches are gone!

Vorteile

I really like it that Bench people essentially leave me alone and they will do all the bookkeeping stuff for me. It is not my forte, so it is great and done at much lower price point than hiring a firm. The web interface is great and pretty much you upload your expense receipts and they will take care of it.

Nachteile

Occasionally the bank statement transfers stops, then takes a bit of trial and errors for it to work, only happens perhaps once a year or so. No biggie, but could improve it.

Antwort von Bench

Hi Manabu - Thank you for your kind words! We're thrilled to be able to ease the headache of bookkeeping for you. We've passed the message on to Nadeeshi and the rest of your team, and you've made their day much brighter. - SP

Bench offers great support for a small Book Keeping Service

Monatlich für Mehr als 2 Jahre genutzt

Bewertet am 29.4.2019

Quelle der Bewertung: Capterra

I am a loyal customer and a happy one. I make it clear if you run a small business Bench can positively help your business grow. If you are a medium business its likely not for you but for Mom and Pops this is a perfect service.

Vorteile

The price is worthy of the value. The service is grounded and level. The results each year were less stress, more time spent with family because our bookkeeping services were met.

Nachteile

It's not software its a service, and ultimately every service has a price. I don't think the results are valuable unless you work with your bookkeeper to accurately get all of your bookkeeping done. As a result, there is some time involvement required. BUT FAR LESS than you'd need to do if you managed it yourself.

Bench has simplified our life!

Wöchentlich für 6-12 Monate genutzt

Bewertet am 3.5.2019

Quelle der Bewertung: Capterra

This has saved me so much time from needing regular in-person meetings with our bookkeeper. Love the ability to hop on a call with our bookkeeper at any time. Everything has been easy to use and transition.

Vorteile

Going from a traditional bookkeeper to Bench has been such a positive experience. Our books are so much more efficient and the online portal makes it so easy to make changes, track our spending, and ensure we're up to date. The combination of online account connections and automation mixed with a real bookkeeper that knows your account has been very helpful.

Nachteile

Some challenges with connecting financial accounts but appreciate the security requirements

Can't imagine running The Key without it

Wöchentlich für Mehr als 1 Jahr genutzt

Bewertet am 29.4.2019

Quelle der Bewertung: Capterra

Vorteile

I LOVE being able to set and forget all the regulated/complex elements of our backend office. Not only do things run smoothly, but the Bench team is always available to confirm that all is as it should be whenever we get concerned.

Excellent benefits are a huge part of the culture we're building, and Bench makes it so easy through its core product and partnerships.

More then Just Software

Wöchentlich für Mehr als 1 Jahr genutzt

Bewertet am 29.4.2019

Quelle der Bewertung: Capterra

Stress free, conviennent and helpful!

Vorteile

I love that Bench isn’t just software, even though the bench software is a million light years away from other book keeping services with its clean dashboards and colorful graphs. The team is as efficient as as helpful as they claim.

Nachteile

Depending on your banking provider, you may experience slight connections issues and have to manually upload statements, but it’s far easier then bookkeeping by myself.